Sports
Hockey

Wild say physical play key to beating Blackhawks

Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford gets set for a save against Wild forward Devin Setoguchi (right) on a pass from teammate Charlie Coyle (left) during Game 3 of their NHL Western Conference quarterfinal at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., May 5, 2013. (ERIC MILLER/Reuters)

The Minnesota Wild believe they just discovered the blueprint for a monumental upset: To beat the Chicago Blackhawks, you have to beat them up.

Pretty simple, really, just punish everything with a headdress on the front of its sweater, like they did in Game 3, and the Hawks can be had.

That's what they're telling themselves in the Minnesota room, anyway, after they ran all over Game 3, out-hitting Chicago 34-13 in a 3-2 overtime victory that's casting serious doubt on this 1 vs. 8 first round series.

"That's how we're going to beat them, right there," said Wild power forward Charlie Coyle. "They were looking over their shoulder, you could tell."

If they weren't then, they are now, up just 2-1 heading into Game 4 Tuesday at the Xcel Energy Center hornets nest, against a Wild team standing a lot taller after Sunday's convincing show of force.

"We stepped that (physical) part of our game up and we're going to need to continue to do even more of that," said Minnesota coach Mike Yeo, who believes his side is more than strong enough to win a test of wills.

"I think we're comfortable playing in those types of games. We did a lot of good things last game. If we keep doing them, we've got a chance."

Hard to argue, given that Minnesota, an overtime crossbar in Game 1 away from being up 2-1 in the series, thoroughly controlled the President's Trophy winners in Game 3.

"They're a very good team that had an unbelievable season," said Matt Cullen, who set up the overtime winner on Sunday. "But, for us, it was proving to ourselves that if we bring our best game we can win."

"We all came to the rink today," added goaltender Josh Harding. "Thinking that this is going to be a long series."

Win Tuesday and it's going six games at least. But can the Wild summon the same urgency and intensity they did when they were playing their first home playoff game in five years and facing a 3-0 deficit?

And can they do it against a Chicago team that, suddenly, is almost as desperate as they are?

"Part of the challenge next game will be to brace against their push back," said Yeo. "I expect to see their best game of the series. It's great that we've done some good things but Game 4 is a new test. I'm anxious to see how we respond against that. With both teams recognizing the importance of this game, the intensity level is going to be high."

It's doesn't take an advanced stats geek to know the difference between 3-1 and 2-2.

"We expect a big push from them," said Minnesota's Devin Setoguchi. "And if we're not ready it could be trouble."

The Hawks know they need to respond before this Minnesota comeback thing gets out of hand. But while they want to ratchet up the toughness and intensity, they don't necessarily want to be drawn into the alley. That's not who they are, and abandoning their game for Minnesota's is exactly what the Wild want.

"Sometimes you can get yourself off your game by playing too physical, but if you don't fight back it seems like they might have an edge there, too, so a little mix of both," said Chicago forward Patrick Kane, adding Game 3 isn't anything the Hawks haven't seen before. "It was typical of the way teams like to play against us, physical and defensive.

"We just have to get better effort from everyone. Just try to get back to the way the Blackhawks play hockey. When we're playing fast and moving it's tough to catch us."

"We've got the strength and speed and skill to make things happen," added Hawks centre Jonathan Toews. "When we bring our best game, we're a very difficult team to handle, too."